For many residents of the Saanich Peninsula, the McKenzie interchange is something like a person with a flu. Best if avoided.
However, with the recent announcement of $85 million for the project, with $52 million coming from B.C.’s 10-year On The Move plan and nearly $33 million from the federal government’s New Building Canada Fund, it may be a part of our region that may merit visiting again.
I sincerely hope the project doesn’t look like the dreaded McTavish exchange or like the almost functioning Helmecken overpass. Both of these would be disastrous for future generations to have to deal with both from the issue of land use but also from a future planning perspective.
Having community input is important but only if the concerns are incorporated into the final design, anything less is a farce.
For anyone who wants to have a say on what is being proposed, the province has launched a dedicated McKenzie Interchange website where it now seeks feedback from the public and is hosting an open house, 3 to 7 p.m. on Nov. 17, at St. Joseph the Worker Parish Hall, 753 Burnside Rd. West.
Eric Diller, Sidney
